A Tale of Two Clinics
Boxing in the Heartland, Day 8![]() |
W.W. Mayo (from Wikipedia) |
After setting up a temporary infirmary to treat injuries from a devastating 1883 tornado, Mayo was convinced to work with the Sisters of Saint Francis, a religious order, to establish a hospital in Rochester. In 1889, the plan was realized and Saint Marys Hospital began serving patients.
Meanwhile, the medical practice of W.W. Mayo and his sons expanded as they hand-picked a group of talented physicians to establish what would become known as the Mayo Clinic. Even after the death of the elder Dr. Mayo in 1911, the Mayo practice continued to grow in national stature as a pioneering medical center, particularly in the area of surgery.
Mayo Clinic's Plummer Building |
The Mayo Clinic was converted from a private practice into a not-for-profit entity in 1919 with the same three-part focus it maintains today: patient care, research, and education. Today Mayo Clinic owns and operates more than 70 hospitals and clinics in the Midwest and several medical colleges. Major Mayo Clinic campuses are located in Jacksonville, FL, and Scottsdale, AZ, in addition to the original in Rochester. In Rochester alone, Mayo employs more than 30,000.
Consistently rated among the top hospitals in the U.S., Mayo Clinic has established an outstanding international reputation for innovative, far-reaching breakthroughs in medical practice.
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Rochester State Hospital |
After the death of her son, Lillian Schuenman endured a nervous breakdown which landed her in Rochester State in the early 1940s. In an attempt to relieve her depression and calm her anxiety, doctors there performed two lobotomies on her. Twenty years later, she died, still a patient at the hospital, and was buried in an anonymous grave on the hospital grounds.
Other patients were institutionalized for such conditions as alcoholism, Downs Syndrome, or even menopause. Electroshock treatments were common. Between 1886 and 1965, more than 2,000 Rochester State patients were laid to rest in unmarked graves in a cemetery tucked away in the woods.
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Rochester State Cemetery at Quarry Hill Park |
A group of local citizens has organized to honor the memory of hospital residents who were interred at this site and to respectfully identify each with a named headstone. They strive to help others remember this part of Rochester’s history and learn from the injustices of the past.
One city, two hospitals-- one a source of honor and acclaim, the other a past many want to forget.
ROAD NOISE:
- Last month we saw some Maclura pomifera trees in Tennessee. What attracted our attention were the bumpy, spherical, baseball-size fruits growing on the tree. We saw quite a few of these trees while letterboxing in the Nashville area and even found ourselves playing "dodgeball" with the fruit dropping from the trees in the heart of autumn. Called Osage orange, hedgeapple, hedgeball, and even horseball, the fruit is not edible by humans. Although it is not strongly poisonous, eating it has been known to cause vomiting. Animals also do not eat this fruit, though squirrels occasionally go after the seeds inside, which are safe.
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Add some to your potato salad? |
It's a fruit, so you display it in the produce department? And hope everyone who buys it reads the sign indicating it's not edible? Or would it be more appropriately shelved with the Off! and Raid? When's the last time you saw a box of d-CON next to the asparagus?
- Started in Rochester, MN; ended in Rochester, MN
- Miles driven: 47
- States: 1 (MN)
- Letterboxes found: 11 (in Quarry Hill Park)
- Kids at Quarry Hill Park and Nature Center: 346
- High school volleyball players staying at our hotel: 112
More Photos from Today
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Rochester State Hospital Cemetery |
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Headstone in RSH Cemetery |
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Plaque at RSH Cemetery |
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Recycling at its best |
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Peace Plaza, downtown Rochester |